South Dakota · county 46059

Hand County, South Dakota: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Hand County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Hand County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

3,097 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.6% since 2020)
1,437 square miles of land · 2 people per square mile

How Hand County compares — against the other counties in South Dakota

3,097 — people: 46th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$15,359 — spending per student in its school districts: 14th highest of 65 South Dakota counties.
78.5 years — life expectancy: 28th highest of 61 South Dakota counties.
10.3% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 40th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
9.3% — child poverty: 56th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
85.7% — households with broadband internet: 30th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$69,681 — median household income: 22nd highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
31.7% — share of bridges rated poor: 2nd highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$1,685 — federal grant dollars per resident: 31st highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$4.4 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 49th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.

“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Hand County

4 active community water systems list Hand County in the area they serve, reporting 13,550 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

MID-DAKOTA RURAL WATER surface water · private · SD4602175	11,833 served
MILLER buys surface water · local government · SD4600211	1,349 served
SAINT LAWRENCE buys surface water · local government · SD4600286	198 served
WESSINGTON buys surface water · local government · SD4600361	170 served

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 4 people were held in Hand County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (1983), or 141 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 1978 it was about 0.

Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

1 school district has its office in Hand County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

MILLER SCHOOL DISTRICT 29-4457 students

Spent $12.2 million — $7 million to run schools, about $15,359 per student, plus $4.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6 million local (mostly property tax), $953,000 state, $524,000 federal. Long-term debt: $6.3 million.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.

Health, money and internet at home — Hand County beside South Dakota

Life expectancy78.5 years · South Dakota 76.8 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance10.3% · South Dakota 10.0%

Children in poverty9.3% · South Dakota 13.5%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)10.5% · South Dakota 11.7%

Households with broadband internet85.7% · South Dakota 88.5%

Households with severe housing problems9.9% · South Dakota 11.4%

Residents per primary care doctor1,547 · South Dakota 1,252

Unemployment1.6% · South Dakota 2.0%

Median household income$69,681 · South Dakota $72,794

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Hand County about $4.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very Low.

The costliest hazards here

Cold wave$1.7 million a year · Relatively Low

River and inland flooding$1.1 million a year · Very Low

Wildfire$397,913 a year · Relatively Low

Hail$359,270 a year · Relatively Low

Tornado$299,018 a year · Very Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

126 bridges in Hand County: 29 in good condition, 57 fair, and 40 poor (31.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.

Busiest bridges rated poor

SD045 over CK · built 1928	538 vehicles a day
365TH AVE over CK · built 1930	59 vehicles a day
345TH AVE over CK · built 1930	43 vehicles a day
347TH AVE over CK · built 1910	43 vehicles a day
GREEN VALLEY RD over CK · built 1920	43 vehicles a day
355 AVE over LOST CK · built 1930	43 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $5.3 million of work in Hand County in fiscal 2025, about $1,685 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.

Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062	closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699	closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661	closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064	closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026	closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778	closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222	closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708	closes 2026-10-29

From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for South Dakota are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Hand County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Hand County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of South Dakota: the state government and every county in South Dakota.

Nearby counties: Hyde County (23 mi) · Buffalo County (36 mi) · Faulk County (37 mi) · Beadle County (37 mi) · Jerauld County (38 mi) · Spink County (42 mi).